Those who lament the passing of what used to be referred to as “secure jobs,” have probably never considered the retail industry. And although nobody every called retail jobs “glamorous,” for those positions in almost perpetual need of filling, retail jobs are hard to beat.
You don’t need to look much further than the Great Depression before you will find an era that rivals the economic situation Americans have found themselves in today. But if there is a silver lining in the current jobs situation, retail opportunities have it. Face it, the U.S. economy is in the doldrums, and will probably be there for at least for the foreseeable future. But for those in need of a job, one look at practically any Want Ad in the country will reveal a saving grace, retail jobs can be plentiful and rewarding. Further, retail jobs are often relatively easy to get, even in a down economy, a willingness to work and a sincere desire to succeed are the only real requirements.
Unfortunately, when most people think of retail work, the image of the lazy teenager standing behind the cash register during an afternoon shift comes to mind. That’s not very inspiring to anyone. But the truth is, retail jobs are anything but boring. In fact, for those who want to enter retail jobs the sky is practically the only limit. And retail is another is field where there are no barriers to the sexes or members of minority members. In fact, your goal is management level, many firms have excellent training programs that enthusiastically encourage application from all populations in their efforts to reach out to new groups, as customers and employees.
There are probably very few fields of endeavor where diversity of jobs is as great as with the retail field. Regardless of your field, chances are good that there are not only open positions and plenty of them. Retail jobs go far beyond the staid cash register clerks. Is your background in accounting? Retail needs accounting personnel at all levels. Marketing? There are plenty of those too. Law? Retail needs everything from lawyers to legal clerks. Practically any field of specialization you can think of is well represented in the retail industry.
Finally, mention the words retail jobs to practically anyone and chances are good that the image of overworked and underpaid people come to mind. Don’t be fooled. Retail is a service industry where the customer is king, so serving that customer can be hard and thankless work, but the satisfaction level is also very high. Just as is the case of any other job, dedicated service to a firm is often very well rewarded, and not long in coming either.
